[Nun's} Health Clinic in Mississippi Caters to Uninsured

[Beau_Ouiville]

"America’s southern Missippi Delta region has some of the richest soil in the country. But it is home to some of America’s poorest people. Many have no health insurance, no doctor and often forego desperately needed treatments. But one Roman Catholic nun and physician is changing all that in a tiny town - Tutwiler, Mississippi. One clinic treats more than 8,000 patients each year.

Tutwiler, Mississippi is a long way down the road from the comforts of everyday America. This downtown died long ago. There’s a liquor store. And a grocery store. With not much for sale. From these tracks, Delta Blues music spread to the rest of the world. Some here live a life of the blues. A third of the families fall below the poverty line.

But they do have one thing: the Tutwiler Health Clinic - low cost, even no cost, healthcare. “We don’t ask people at the door before we see them [to] pay the money. It’s a matter of seeing the patient, whatever they need,” said Dr. Anne Brooks, a Roman Catholic nun, who runs the clinic."
voanews.com/english/news/usa/Health-Clinic-in-Mississippi-Caters-to-Uninsured-105300113.html

 

[Dale_M]

Here is a bit more on the Tutwiler Health Clinic, which was first opened by the US government in 1964, but which closed a few years later.

I’m quoting from an academic paper written in 2004:

In 1983, four sisters of the Holy Names, one of whom is the physician, reopened the clinic as a full-time outpatient facility. As the number of patients increased, 38 there have been expansions in the size of the staff and the building itself. The emphasis on holistic health created the need for outside activities, and by 1992 the Tutwiler Education Center was built and incorporated as a separate entity. With the addition of a nurse practitioner to the clinic’s staff in 1992 it became possible for medical services to be expanded to the people of Glendora, a tiny town sixty miles south of Tutwiler, where a satellite clinic is open two days a week. These efforts would not have emerged without the support and concern of many people throughout the country who heard about the clinic through national publicity.

uszka.hu/file/last%20version62.pdf
(see page 38)

Dr. Brooks belongs to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Her staff also includes three Dominican sisters and one with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Here is the link to the clinic’s website:
tutwilerclinic.org/index.html

 

[bkayw]

God bless her and her mission.

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

There’s is truly a blessed ministry. I wish them continued success.

 

[Dale_M]

The sisters involved in Tutwiler are truly inspiring.

The clinic mentioned in the first post saw a need for more activities which were not directly medical, but which promoted health. Thus another member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Sr. Maureen Delaney) came to town and helped create the Tutwiler Community Education Center. This is what they do:

Our basic, underlying philosophy has always been to develop programs coming out of the expressed needs and concerns of the people, to hire and train as many local people as possible to run the programs, and to develop a sense of community in all our activities. With this in mind we gradually expanded our programs and we now have:

* After School and Summer Enrichment Programs for children and teens
* Parent Meetings
* Senior Citizen Program,
* AA Group
* Quilt Program (people make quilted products in their homes and we sell them through the Center) .
* A 7,000 sq. ft. Gym that offers fitness and sports programs for children, teens and adults

tutwilercenter.org/id14.html

Here is the link to the quilting cooperative:
tutwilerquilters.org/

 

[latin_rite]

This is a great story. There should be more of this. Not only because it helps people are unable to help themselves. But it will also go a long way to restoring the faith to many hurting Catholics. Who have been hurt and disillusioned by all the :controversy" that has been reported about the church. Plus nothing shuts up a anti catholic i am debating with, faster than, when i state the fact that. When it comes to caring for the poor. It is one place where the Church puts it’s money where its mouth is.